Glasgow designers make mug out of Capital with homely creations

Published on Monday 6 April 2009 10:44

THE controversial designs from the cover of this year's Edinburgh International Festival programme are to be reproduced on a series of household goods for sale in the Capital.

The images include the Royal Mile statue of philosopher David Hume topped with a traffic cone and surrounded by beggars, and a man vomiting on to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby while another urinates into Bobby's fountain.

The images were criticised for projecting a negative image of Edinburgh and sparked fears that visitor numbers could be affected.

Now both of these designs – and more – are set to decorate goods, including lamp shades, teapots, plates, mugs, curtains and wallpaper, which will be sold in at least one of the city's interiors shops from October this year.

Paul Simmons, co-owner of the Glasgow firm behind the designs, Timorous Beasties, said: "Some of the scenes will be slightly different from the Festival programme cover but it's going to look very similar. We're keeping the one of Greyfriars Bobby and the statue of David Hume with a cone on his head.

"The designs that probably won't be used from the programme cover are the ones that have things to do with the Festival in them."

He added: "I might pop in one of Sir Fred Goodwin getting chased out of town. I would really quite like to do one of Sir Fred Goodwin since the Royal Bank of Scotland building is in Edinburgh."

Timorous Beasties has already created similar toiles – the name for this type of design – for Glasgow and London, with the Glasgow toile appearing on fabric and plates, while the London one decorates fabric, wallpaper and ceramics.

When the Edinburgh International Festival programme was released at the end of last month, many residents and politicians – as well as the Edinburgh Principal Hotels Association and Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce – voiced concerns that it was in bad taste and could discourage visitors to the Festival.

Ron Hewitt, chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said he wouldn't be rushing to buy one of the new household accessories. He said: "These images have been more or less universally condemned by right-thinking people. If they sell the things, good luck to them, but personally I don't expect these rather cranky aberrations to be outselling the Edinburgh that people really come here for, which is as a leading cultural capital of the world."

But Mr Simmons said: "I think maybe it will get people to waken up and sniff the real world. I really don't care what the politicians say, do or think. I would quite like to annoy them as much as I can."

He added: "The Edinburgh toile will appear on curtains or upholstery and maybe a wallpaper. There may well be some products like lamp shades and some ceramics – mugs for sure – and it might make it on to some teapots and plates as well.

"I think it's nice for things like that to be available to people and not for it just to be an idea which people can't own a bit of."